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MetroHealth hospitals – done right – in Parma and Cleveland Heights

In case you haven’t heard, we are adding private hospital beds to our health centers in Parma and Cleveland Heights, transforming them into full-service MetroHealth hospitals, in addition to the medical offices and Emergency Department that are at the locations.

We are excited to be adding an extra dimension of care in our neighborhoods. And as we work on the new hospitals, we want to make sure we do things right.

MetroHealth has been busy hosting focus groups to get a deeper understanding from patients about what they want and expect when they are admitted to the hospital. Here’s some of what they are finding:

• Patients welcome the idea of a hospital in their neighborhood, closer to home. “I think part of healing is to have family and friends around you,” one said.

• Patients like having private, single rooms, and they expect them to be clean and tidy.

• In their rooms, they’d like to choose from a variety of entertainment options, movies and music.

• Patients want a say in when and what they eat. And, of course, they want quality food.

• Patients expect timeliness in care. If told that a test will happen at noon, for instance, they expect it to happen at noon.

• They want friendly, courteous and helpful staff members. “Patients want a welcoming, listening, caring experience and they want to know what they can expect in terms of their care,” says Beth Clegg, a senior market research associate.

• When it comes to how the hospitals should look, patients said they preferred a more home-like feel rather than something flashy and modern. “They reported feeling vulnerable and anxious,” says Cindy Gallaspie, MetroHealth’s director of market intelligence. “They would rather we get the basics right like being courteous, providing timely care and protecting their dignity.”

The new hospitals -- designed with this feedback in mind -- remain on schedule to open in January 2018.